A Marriage of Inconvenience
by brunette89
Summary: DG is being forced to marry a foreign Prince against her will... Well, not if Cain has anything to say about it.
1. Chapter 1

DG breathed in and out.

In and out.

She felt like Viola from Shakespeare in Love. She was marrying Duke Adrian Lycas of Tarrow against her will.

In and out, in and out.

She was afraid she would forget how to breathe if she didn't think those magic words to herself; just breathe. Another movie came to mind in which there was a happy ending. DG felt no such hope for herself.

She sighed, trying to smooth a pucker in the fabric of the corset. She swore she wouldn't cry, but it was to be expected and a tear appeared to pearl at the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. When it dripped off her chin and onto her dress, it was if it hit the fabric and exploded into a million little pearls that just stayed there. It was a beautiful dress to say the least, but it was not the dress of a bride in love on the most important day of her life.

It was not DG.

This was not how DG imagined her day. She was supposed to be marrying her true love, the man of her dreams. Who was this man? If she went by her heart, she couldn't not name any one man. Being Princess of the O.Z., she didn't really know a lot of me. If she went by her dreams… what had she dreamed of the night before? She wracked her brain for what she had been dreaming of. She did not have another thought as soon as a knock came to her door.

"Who is it?" She called.

"Jeb, you're highness," The younger Cain announced. DG got down from the pedestal that the seamstress had positioned her on and moved for the door. She opened the door slightly, and connected her blue eyes with the icy ones of the young man and at once knew what she had dreamed of. Those same eyes and an older face had saved her time and time again in her dreams. She could not speak now that she knew.

"If it pleases you," He said gently, trying to figure out how to interpret DG's face. "The Prince Consort would like to know if you are ready." DG could no longer look into the inherited Cain family eyes as she felt a horrible tug at her heart. She didn't know how to interpret anything she felt, it just confused her more and her voice caught in her throat. All she could do is nod, and look down at her hands.

"I'll tell him." Jeb lingered a moment, knowing that something was wrong. It was the Cain family instinct, DG was sure. She closed the door and proceeded to sob uncontrollably until her sides hurt and she could not breathe.


	2. Chapter 2

"Father, it's time to dress." Jeb was busy being everyone's messenger. The elder Cain was sitting in one of his chairs with his head in his hands facing the window.

He did not respond to his son, not even a nod.

"Father?" Jeb put his hand on his father's shoulder and felt the shudder underneath his hand. The elder Cain finally looked up, but not at his son. There was a fire in his eye; an anger that Jeb had never seen except in mad men.

"Father, if you do not dress presently, we will miss the ceremony completely."

"Good." Cain muttered, sounding incredibly juvenile. Jeb hardly caught the word.

"What is your problem?" Jeb asked, forcefully.

"Nothing a good glass of whiskey can't drown," Cain bit his tongue as if each word were a bitter salt lick.

"You love her. You love the Princess." Jeb realized after a moment. He ran one hand through his hair and put the other on his hip, scrutinizing his father.

"Why the hell haven't you said anything?"

"You should be the last person that I need to explain myself to." Cain did not deny that his son was right but he would not talk about it. He was torturing himself enough as it was. He could not admit to loving the Queen-to-Be, not to mention the woman he faithfully body-guarded for almost 2 years now.

He was not worthy, he was poor, he was old… too old for her. And he was going to stand up at the assembly and watch her marry a man she didn't love… maybe she did love him, he didn't know. It was easier to think that maybe she did love Duke Adrian Lycas, because then he was just an irrational Tin Man.

But a twinge of hope sat at the back of his mind and he couldn't let it go.

"I'll change." Cain sighed and Jeb rolled his eyes, leaving the room. Cain stood up and changed into his dress whites. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.

He had about 1000 steps to the grand ballroom to make the most important decision of his life.


	3. Chapter 3

DG's felt lucky to have the gauzy veil hiding her face. It also hid her fear, her anger, her sadness, and the mascara trails… She clutched her bouquet of roses until her knuckles turned purple as she waited in silence for her father to arrive to escort her.

All she was thinking about was the one man in her life worth marrying, and it certainly wasn't Duke Adrian.

She hadn't spoken to Cain as a friend since her parents announced her engagement. At first, she had blamed the fact that they hadn't spoken on all of the whirl-wind wedding planning, but there was more to it. One didn't dream of things that she had been dreaming of if it had a simple explanation like that. All she wanted was to run to Cain and tell him that she loved him, but she had an innate fear that he didn't feel the same. Besides, she couldn't get out of marrying Adrian so why even think about it anymore?

A soft knock came at her door. Ahamo opened the door and smiled at his daughter who he perceived to be happy under her veil. She took his arm and let her self be led to certain unhappiness. They met Azkadellia and Glitch at the doors to the ballroom to begin the ceremony. DG hugged Az, who, being highly perceptive, sensed something was quite wrong, but didn't say one word. The music started inside and Glitch opened the doors, offering his arm to Azkadellia. DG closed her eyes and tried to breathe, but she couldn't. Ahamo ended up pulling her down the aisle, but not because she was openly protesting.

It was because she couldn't see through the black-stained tears that were hanging from her eyelashes.

At the end of the aisle, she felt her hand being taken by a hand that didn't fit hers. It was almost smaller than hers and it wasn't a friendly touch. DG was now looking at her feet because she felt like she was going to be sick. She heard her mother begin the ceremony but the words meant nothing to her.

She felt nothing but emptiness.


	4. Chapter 4

Cain had never fought so hard for anything in his life. All he was doing right now was stopping himself from going to the stables, taking Piston, and riding until the poor horse's legs gave out.

He had to stay.

As the captain of the Tin Men, he was required.

He had posted himself as close to the exit as he could get so that the second the ceremony was over, he could split. The music began and every guest stood and turned to watch the wedding party enter the room.

Everyone except Cain. He was standing so close to where DG would be entering that he wouldn't have to turn. He wasn't sure that he wanted to anyway, it might make him do something irrational.

Azkadellia and Glitch walked past and down to the end of the aisle. Cain was watching Duke Adrian Lycas who was standing at the end of the aisle staring at DG intently. But it was not love in his eyes, it was duty and a sense of command.

How could someone like DG ever be happy with someone like Adrian?

All of a sudden, DG and Ahamo were passing him and he heard her gasp sharply as if she were crying… no, he was SURE that she was crying. He couldn't help but look at her. She was… ethereal. That was the word that kept coming into Cain's head.

Ethereal.

She glowed all around the edges, which he was sure had something to do with her magic.

He watched as Ahamo was pulling her down the aisle while her shoulders tensed as she fought against a particularly violent internal sob. Adrian took her hand and he saw DG's hand flinch.

Was he the only person noticing these things?

All he wanted to do was pull her close and tell her that it was all going to be okay, let her cry into his chest while he told her that he loved her. But surely she didn't love him, that was impossible. It didn't matter to him anymore, he had to stop this horrible deed from coming true.

"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace." The Queen announced and Cain felt the words slipping from his lips before he could think about them.

"Because she doesn't love him." Everyone turned to look at him, including DG. He looked right at DG, blocking out everyone else. "And she deserves to marry someone who loves her." He bowed and turned, opening one of the doors to the ballroom and left the room. He didn't know where he was going, but by god, he was going. He undid the buttons on his dress jacket so that his white dress shirt could now be seen as he walked and he heard the door to the ballroom being thrown open. He thought it would be Ahamo, following him to kill him for stopping his daughter's wedding.

But it wasn't.


	5. Chapter 5

DG had felt herself slowly losing control of her life with each word that her mother spoke. Her last chance at freedom was with those infamous words 'speak now or forever hold your peace' and she mustered all her energy before opening her mouth to speak. But somebody else beat her to it.

"Because she doesn't love him." DG's head whipped around to try to focus on who had spoken. She blinked away the waterfall of tears and focused on the person standing at the end of the aisle. Her heart caught in her throat when she realized who it was.

It was Cain.

"And," he continued, staring right at her. "She deserves to marry someone who loves her." The tears began flowing harder, but not because she was sad. It was because she knew now that he loved her. She stared after him as he left the ballroom, closing the door behind him.

"Well, DG? Do you wish to continue with the ceremony?" Her mother asked, as if Cain had never spoken. She pulled back her veil, revealing her horrible tear-stained face and her mother gasped. DG kicked off her shoes, ripped the veil off her head and grabbed the skirt of her gown before giving her mother one last glance. She ran down the aisle after Cain.

"Princess Dorothy!" Duke Adrian yelled after her. "We have a contract!"

DG didn't stop running or crying and when she reached the ballroom door, she threw it open. She watched Cain walking away for only a split second before running again.

Cain heard yelling from the ballroom, but he didn't stop walking, just slowed. He heard barefeet behind him and he finally turned to see DG running towards him. She stopped before she reached him, just standing there.

He glanced at the black trails down her face and thought to himself that she looked more beautiful in that moment then ever.

He just stood facing her and neither of them said a word. He looked down at his shoes and memorized the scuff-marks.

"Wh… Why didn't you tell me… before…" She whispered.

"Tell you what?" He whispered back, still looking at his feet.

"That… you love me." He looked up at her face.

She knew.

"How'd you…"

"Wyatt, when you stop my wedding, I figure things out…" DG's breath caught like it does when you're trying to laugh while bawling. Cain felt his heart skip when she called him by his first name.

It took a second for either of them to say anything.

"I knew you were crying when you came in…" He started. "I could tell by the way your shoulders tensed…" He was embarrassed that he recognized anything about her, from little changes in how she did her hair to things she ate at meals. "That's why I said something. I wasn't going to, because I didn't think…" He couldn't go on anymore. He had to maintain composure for her sake.

So he remained silent, dumbly.

DG finally stopped crying as she watched the inner struggle going on inside Cain. He still didn't know that she loved him, so he thought he was in the wrong.

DG smiled to herself and reached out her right hand to place her hand on his cheek. He was once again shocked and he looked up.

"If you hadn't said anything, I would have…" She smiled. "I was getting ready to say something when you spoke up."

He raised one of the corners of his mouth in a smirk. DG brushed his cheek with her thumb and took a step closer, narrowing the void between them.

"And you should know… That I love you too." She whispered and he smiled. "I realized it this morning…" She moved in to kiss him but he shook his head smilling.

"We have an audience." DG turned, her hand now in Cain's, to see everyone staring at them from the open ballroom door, smiling.

"Then, let's give them a show." DG winked and kissed him sweetly. He laughed into her lips and returned the kiss lovingly, wrapping his arms around her waist. He picked her up and whirled her around and she laughed, throwing her head back and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Duke Adrian pushed through the crowd and his jaw dropped.

"I can give you riches beyond your wildest dreams! And you choose the guard?" He was exasperated.

"How do you know what I dream about?" DG turned to face him, holding fast to Cain's hand. Adrian was speechless.

"If you knew anything about what I dream, you would know that it's right here," She said, holding up the hand that was holding Cain's, which made Adrian blush.

"But he's… poor! And… old!" Adrian was now fighting to maintain all the political clout he could, but he was failing.

"Makes up for you, Duke. You are… snobby. And… boring." The crowd stifled laughs as Adrian threw his hands up in the air.

"I can make you a Duchess…" it was his last attempt.

"Hmmm… go marry you and become a Duchess… marry Wyatt…" She emphasized his name again because she knew how it made him feel. "And become Queen of the O.Z. Tough choice." She turned back to Cain and he winked.

Adrian growled in anger and threw a temper tantrum, which caused his mother to push through the crowd and lead him away as he cried like a baby.

"I never said anything about marrying you…" Cain teased. DG raised an eyebrow.

"I never said you did." She kissed him again and giggled.

"Cheeky…"

The End


End file.
